Ranking Every Single Cast Member from the Trilogy

MTV loves to remind us that Dirty Thirty, Vendettas, and Final Reckoning are a trilogy. Though most of the connections between the three seasons seem forced, fans have accepted these three seasons as a cohesive unit.

For this reason, I am going to be ranking every single cast member from these shows. My rankings will be based on a number of factors such as: prominence in storylines, success in the challenge, and amount of airtime. While the rankings are highly subjective, there are a few things guaranteed to boost competitors up the list. Being on multiple seasons, making a final or dominating in eliminations will result in a higher ranking.

Remember, this is just my opinion. I’d love to talk about my rankings and hear what others think.

One important distinction: Frank and Laurel will not be included on this list. However, an appearance as a Mercenary will be considered for other competitors who were formally cast on Dirty Thirty or Final Reckoning.

52. Eddie Williams

Eddie has the distinct honor of being the only person edited out of the trilogy and he’s the only person edited out of a Challenge and not replaced. His departure was sketchy at best, and he wasn’t replaced or acknowledged at all.

51. LaToya Jackson

LaToya was over this trilogy before it began. The second she lost The Purge she was cursing MTV and production in her mind. I guess I can’t blame her, as she did get a pretty tough break on both Dirty Thirty and Invasion.

50. Simone Kelly

Simone should be best remembered for clawing Shane R.’s face in Redemption then threatening him with a broken champagne bottle. This wasn’t caught on camera, so her departure was a never-ending argument with no interesting footage. Then it spilled onto the reunion for some reason.

49. Shane Raines

Shane initiated Simone’s wrath and received her clawing… apparently. He is the second half of the useless Redemption fight, and I’m only ranking him higher because he was clearly brought on the show to benefit Tony’s game. His departure was only important once Tony found out his little brother left.

48. Victor Arroyo

Talk about disappointing. Advertised as “America’s Favorite Player” on Big Brother, he did not translate to a Challenge favorite. He was known for getting into a drunken fight with Shane and not connecting with his cast mates. If you look at his social media, it’s as if he’s scrubbed any reference of The Challenge from his memory.

47. Rogan O’Connor

Apparently he has beef with Kyle. Apparently he was a strong competitor. Apparently he was supposed to be on Final Reckoning but had surgery scheduled. Rogan was only interesting for the potential he had, but an injured back (a legitimate reason to leave) cost him Vendettas during the initial Purge.

46. Dario Medrano

For a moment in time, it appeared Dario would become a Challenge staple. Then, he met Ashley K and dated her for a while. He dreamt of her throughout his entire stay on Dirty Thirty, resulting in hours of footage of him sleeping. We haven’t seen him since, and I can’t say I’m surprised.

45. Chuck Mowery

Brought onto The Challenge five season after AYTO3, Chuck had the honor of doing nothing and getting eliminated. He literally just slept in a coffin, Britni couldn’t find him, then never got to compete in Redemption because of the silly Double Cross twist. On the bright side, he did have some ridiculous fights with Britni.

44. Briana LaCuesta

Coming in as a replacement on Dirty Thirty, Briana was repeating her rookie season after Brandon disqualified her on Rivals 3. Sadly, she was the first post-Purge boot and was unable to redeem herself in Redemption. I’m glad she got a second chance, and glad the veterans could use her as a rookie scapegoat.

43. Alicia Wright

As a competitor, Alicia will best be remembered as that girl who Nicole slammed into the water. For production, she was just an accessory to Cory’s storyline. I wouldn’t mind seeing her come back as she was super relevant on Ex on the Beach. On The Challenge she was just another early rookie departure.

42. Darrell Taylor

Old school fans saw Darrell fade into mediocrity during this trilogy. While his return on Invasion demonstrated his strengths, his performance on Dirty Thirty was lined with bad luck due to some of the twists. Then, he returned on Vendettas as a Mercenary and ended his elimination in a tie. As great as Darrell has been on The Challenge, this trilogy did not give him moments to be proud of.

41. Faith Stowers

Unlike most of the people who have already appeared on this list, Faith demonstrated some promise as a rookie. Then, she hooked up with Kyle and became a victim of a nasty love triangle (with a couple of extra angles). Further, her luck diminished when she had to face a team of Mercenaries and was then sent to Redemption where she didn’t have the chance to compete and return.

40. Ammo

Coming into Dirty Thirty with the cringiest self-introduction ever, Ammo surprised everyone when he eliminated Tony during an early elimination. He did lose to Jordan, but Ammo was one of those competitors everyone assumed would flop hard. He exceeded expectations and had a pretty good underdog story. That is, until he lost to Jordan and didn’t stick around to fight in Redemption.

39. Nicole Ramos

Nicole’s return on Dirty Thirty was interesting. She was clearly invited onto Rivals 3 to be Nany’s ally so she was a lone ranger when competing on Dirty Thirty. She did fairly well and had many humorous confessionals during the season. When she was eliminated in the initial Purge on Vendettas, Nicole proved that luck has played a big role in her success on The Challenge. Nicole likely appears on these shows to support her make up addiction, so I don’t feel particularly bad about her losses.

38. Jozea Flores

After his debut on Big Brother 18, Jozea seemed like he would never do well on another reality show. Then, we saw Flopzea on Champs vs. Stars 2 confirming he wasn’t a comp beast. However, his performance on Final Reckoning was somewhat respectable though it was riddled with struggles due to twists. Despite performing better than many people expected, his most memorable moment will be his fight with Shane after Shane threw a challenge.

37. Angela Babicz

Much like Faith, Angela performed better than anticipated. She also fell victim to multiple twists that ruined her chances of proving herself further. Despite this, no one will remember Angela’s performance on Final Reckoning. They will remember her romance with Bananas and her off-screen drama. Angela caused more drama on social media than on the actual show and this continued onto the Final Reckoning reunion.

36. Derrick Henry

Derrick only lasted a couple of episodes on Dirty Thirty and Final Reckoning, and his story on the show mostly circled around Tori. After all, she did cheat on Derrick and Derrick wasn’t doing himself any favors when he flopped in every single challenge. His most notable moment was at the Final Reckoning reunion when he and Tori were involved in a text message scandal involving a private detective. Luckily, Derrick had a great alibi: he couldn’t hack Tori’s phone because he’s black… OK.

35. Melissa Reeves

Despite a relatively brief stint on Vendettas and a super brief stint on Final Reckoning, Melissa made a huge splash in the episodes where she did appear. She managed to fight with Kam, start a showmance with Nicole Z, sliced open a toe, won an elimination, and got into a fight where she and Kailah were sent home. Melissa is clearly a UK reality attention whore, and this transferred into wild appearances on The Challenge.

34. Derrick Kosinski

Returning to The Challenge after about 10 season, Derrick proved he is just as strong as ever… if not stronger. This meant he made it all the way to the end of Dirty Thirty, but it doesn’t mean his gameplay evolved. He laid low and worked with Bananas, proving much hasn’t changed since Cutthroat. He did manage to get into a petty fight with Nelson though.

33. Leroy Garrett

A fan favorite, Leroy received a lot of support after being victim of Camila’s racist rant on Dirty Thirty. He also fell victim of Veronica’s manipulative scheming that season which ultimately cost him the game. When he returned onto Vendettas, he made it all the way to the end but accumulated no money throughout the season. As likable as Leroy may be, fans may be losing faith by this point. Nine seasons in, he hasn’t won and remains a part of the Bananas boat.

32. Jenna Compono

At her best, Jenna is a sweet and bubbly girl who plays the game well and avoids being personally aggressive. At her worst, she fades in the background and that’s mostly what we saw during the trilogy. She had a good run on Dirty Thirty and even made a slightly savage move by sending Camila into elimination, but her time on Final Reckoning was cut short due to twists. We never got to see the Zach/Jenna plot line that production desperately wanted. Instead, Jenna slowly began to lose her title of “Barbie beast.”

31. Da’Vonne Rogers

Coming onto The Challenge as a Big Brother mainstay, Da’Vonne garnered a lot of interest from reality fans. To their disappointment, her appearance checkered with twists and moving in and out of Redemption. She did manage to fight with Shane and argue have the memorable “fuck, you, bitch” line when Ashley tried to interrupt her. Despite surviving multiple Redemption challenges, she inevitably went home when she wasn’t selected to compete in her third Redemption challenge.

30. Aneesa Ferreira

As far as old schoolers go, Aneesa has become one of the few who has consistently appeared on the show. She has also become the Challenge with the most appearances without a win. We saw some sparks of fire left in Aneesa when she won in a Redemption challenge and broke Veronica’s finger as a Mercenary. However, most of her story revolved around an unfinished romance with Cory and a fake romance with Veronica.

29. Jemmye Carroll

After taking a few seasons off, Jemmye returned to the Challenge as sassy as ever. She’ll be best known throughout the trilogy for owning the confessional and making a few power plays. Ultimately, she wasn’t the best competitor and she knows that. This helped her advance during her first two seasons, but got her purged during the first challenge on Final Reckoning.

28. CT Tamburello

Coming in hot after a first place win on Invasion, fear of CT allowed him to skate to the final of Dirty Thirty where he came in third. Sadly, I think we are watching CT fizzle out. He’s much more rational and responsible than he was during his early and mid Challenge career. However, dad bod CT isn’t as intimidating as Duel 2 CT. He left Final Reckoning early because Veronica got him Purged, but even if they stuck around longer he likely wouldn’t have made it too far in the game.

27. Joss Mooney

A physical specimen from the UK, Joss looks like he’s built to compete. His epic elimination with Derrick and performance in Final Reckoning confirm this. Despite that, he wasn’t the center of a lot of controversy. He was a tough competitor and had a brief fling with Amanda. That’s about it.

26. Paulie Calafiore

With a tumultuous appearance on Big Brother under his belt and an underwhelming appearance on Ex on the Beach, we didn’t know which side of Paulie we’d get on Final Reckoning. We got a Paulie closer to BB18 Paulie. Flopping in many competitions and cheating on his girlfriend. After losing an elimination and two Redemptions, he returned to the house and seriously stepped his game up. He was somewhat deceiving throughout the game and invested most of his time is cyclical hook up drama.

25. Cory Wharton

Cory saw two of the three finals in his first three Challenge appearances, but this trilogy was not kind to him. He survived half of Dirty Thirty and managed to recycle hook up drama from all of his prior seasons. Then, he got himself eliminated first on Vendettas and disqualified himself from Final Reckoning for body slamming Tony. This string of losses has proved that Cory might be better suited for other shows that encourage wild sex and unplanned pregnancies.

24. Britni Thornton

The rise and fall of Britni may be encompassed in this trilogy. Debuting on Dirty Thirty, she won a couple of elimination before losing to Camila. This proved she was better than most people thought, and she lasted for a while on Vendettas until Laurel came into the game as a Mercenary and took her out. Things were looking good for her: she was making her presence known on The Challenge, she wasn’t the worst competitor, and she started a relationship with Brad. Then, Final Reckoning happened. She lost in the first Purge and fought with Chuck. This uncovered some lingering feelings and contributed to her break up with Brad, who she barely got a chance to speak to on Final Reckoning. This is probably one of the floppiest challenge appearances for any competitor in the history of the show.

23. Jordan Wiseley

Jordan is the lowest winner on this list, and that’s because he showed up to Dirty Thirty with one intent: money. He got his pay check and only got into a couple of fights, which is mild for Jordan. He also ended up dating Tori, but that was mostly off screen. Jordan’s far from perfect, but it’s clear he is maturing and focused on the paycheck. I’d be surprised to see Jordan again in the future as he’s becoming more successful with his business outside of MTV.

22. Kayleigh Morris

As a UK transplant on The Challenge, Kayleigh became the center of multiple fights. Starting with her “vendetta” Melissa and moving onto Natalie and Kailah. This resulted in her luggage getting thrown off the balcony in Vendettas, an alleged hook up with Bananas, and her “outing” Natalie on social media. As dramatic as Kayleigh is, her performance in actual competitions is mediocre at best. She may be best suited for a drama-based show like Ex on the Beach. Lucky for her, she was able to establish a relationship with Nelson on the show which gave her a new ex for Ex on the Beach in the UK.

21. Sylvia Elsrode

As a member of the Lavender Ladies, Sylvia found herself surrounded by drama. Often she’d find herself in the background of the drama but involved nonetheless. Her biggest highlight might be her headbutting Marie’s face or her fake tears during Kam’s master plan. However, Sylvia is one of the underdogs consistently proving herself in challenges and eliminations. In the trilogy, she never lost and elimination and made it all the way to the Final Reckoning final where she lost by seconds. She eliminated Bananas and Tori, but her brutal elimination with Melissa on Vendettas may be her shining moment.

20. Camila Nakagawa

The female winner of Dirty Thirty, this season was also the beginning of the end for Camila. The craziness we loved in the Camilinator manifested itself in an ugly way when she went on a racist tirade and berated Leroy with insults. There’s no doubt that Camila is a stellar competitor, and she proved this. She also proved that The Challenge is an environment where she will self-destruct. After Dirty Thirty she was removed from Champs vs. Stars for assaulting a producer and didn’t appear on Vendettas or Final Reckoning. She didn’t even show up to the Dirty Thirty reunion and she hasn’t been on MTV since.

19. Nicole Zanatta

A lot of girls want to be able to dethrone Cara Maria. We saw Kailah, Marie, and Amanda oppose Cara at different points in the trilogy. These opponents fail in comparison to Nicole who stands the best chance of eliminating Cara Maria. Nicole consistently wins challenges and she’s a physical beast. There’s no denying that her relationship with Laurel forced tension in Cara Maria’s relationship with Laurel, a friendship that is now over. Nicole is truly a competitor who threatens the big dogs. Fans may also remember her showmance with Melissa or her resemblance to Andy Dick, but her most interesting aspect her potential to replace the best competitors.

18. Zach Nichols

There are multiple sides to Zach, but he came onto Vendettas focused on the prize. He’s clearly working on his relationship with Jenna and he wanted to perform well on this season so he could work toward their future. He almost won, but kind of faded into the background. His real story line was on Final Reckoning, but it wasn’t the story line production wanted. With Jenna gone, he had to navigate through the struggles of working with Amanda. This lead to a few outbursts and him sacrificing his game for Tony & Bananas. Zach & Amanda had an amazing shot at winning this season, but it was all thrown away for alliances.

17. Veronica Portillo

Veronica’s return on Dirty Thirty was a pleasant surprise for long term Challenge fans, and she definitely delivered this season. Perhaps Veronica isn’t the same physical presence she once was, but she is just as conniving and calculating as ever. She pulled a power move and got Leroy thrown into elimination. She also confirmed her relationship with Rachel, won her first elimination in 12 years, and dominated a couple of puzzles. She left Vendettas due to a broken finger, but the bigger disappointment was her departure on Final Reckoning. Old school fans wanted CT & Veronica to dominated, but they were eliminated early in the game because Veronica fell off a piece of steak.

16. Kyle Christie

After production began to realize Cory was self-destructing on The Challenge, they needed a new guy who was willing to sleep with anyone. Welcome to Kyle, who has hook up stories with many people on the cast. His main story is his relationship with Cara Maria and later feud with Paulie. He also did very well on Vendettas where he made it to the final, but his performance on Final Reckoning proved he might not be as strong as once believed. Still, he forced himself into the center of many plot lines and became the most prominent of the UK kids on The Challenge.

15. Shane Landrum

Shane’s return on Invasion was a shock to fans and served as a reintroduction to an old schooler. On Vendettas and Final Reckoning we saw “Shady Shane” at his finest. This version of Shane is stronger than last, unapologetically gay, and willing to take the drama to extremes. After losing to Jordan on Vendettas, he returned to Final Reckoning with a vengeance. This time he threw challenges, called some of the shots on his team, won eliminations, and pushed forward with his alliance. Shane has become a polarizing character on the show. He’s made just as many friends as enemies but he certainly had a huge impact on this trilogy.

14. Natalie Negrotti

Big Brother’s introduction to The Challenge is best represented through Natalie. She’s a pretty good competitor and adapted to some of the unique aspects of The Challenge. Still, she uses some of the strategies synonymous with the Big Brother game. This includes her “showmance” with Bananas, making deals during endurance comps, and sitting back while others make the big moves. Even if you’re not a fan of this type of game, there’s no denying Natalie has done well for a rookie. She made it far in Vendettas and came in third on Final Reckoning. Moving forward, she has enough exes and “vendettas” to secure a spot on future seasons.

13. Tori Deal

Debuting on Dirty Thirty, Tori made a huge splash on the game by making it to the final of her rookie season. She worked with newbies and veterans alike to become a force in the game. She started dating Jordan and seemed to have a promising future on The Challenge. When she returned to Vendettas as a Mercenary, some of her promise seemed to be flushed down the toilet. She lost to Kam and it looked like another rookie was taking the limelight. Her drama with her ex Derrick H. forced her into a difficult pairing on Final Reckoning and her second Challenge appearance was nowhere near as dominating as her first.

12. Amanda Garcia

The most vocal Lavender Lady, Amanda is likely the most polarizing cast member in the trilogy. She’s stong-minded and many Challenge alum have praised her for standing up for herself and being so headstrong. Challengers on the receiving end of her outbursts have come to hate her. Most specifically, she has made enemies with Cara Maria, Zach, and Bananas. This meant she was frequently in arguments with the most seasoned competitors while moving her Lavender Lady alliance forward in the game. Her strategy is not without consequences. It allowed Jenna to purge her at the beginning of Dirty Thirty and Zach sacrificed their game for the sake of Tony & Bananas on Final Reckoning.

11. Brad Fiorenza

Of all of the veteran returns in this trilogy, Brad’s may he been the most interesting. He returned after divorcing Tori and was far removed from the game. Somehow, he managed to integrate himself back into all of the drama The Challenge had to offer. He lost right before the Vendettas final but that’s not before he got in multiple fights and started dating Britni. His appearance on Final Reckoning was slightly tamer, but still plagued with Britni drama. He made it close to the end on this season even though he spent half the season in Redemption. Still, this new Brad is more dramatic than ever and just as strong as before. A solid addition to both seasons he appeared on.

10. Marie Roda

Fans waited four and a half years to see Marie return after Battle of the Seasons only to be disappointed when she left first on Invasion. On the trilogy, Marie improved greatly. Each seasons she performed better than the last, eventually making her first final. She was involved in her share of drama, but her vendettas with Cara Maria turned her doubters into fans. Most notably, she had redeemed herself in TJ’s eyes which is a major accomplishment. The old Marie didn’t die. She showed up every so often to remind people just how corny they are.

9. Kailah Casillas

Coming into the trilogy, Kailah was one half of Jailah. The two girls weaseled their way toward the end of Dirty Thirty only to get cut in the final Purge. Then, Kailah competed on Vendettas where she established an identity for herself without Jenna. She became a girl who could fight through tough challenges and bully a Brit when needed. She made her first final and was becoming a major character on the show. Then, she threw this away when she got into a shoving match with Melissa at the beginning of Final Reckoning. Both girls got sent home over a petty brawl. To be fair, Melissa did try to sabotage her relationship by spreading lies at the Vendettas reunion.

8. Nelson Thomas

One of the members of team Young Buck, Nelson had a lot of successes and failures during the trilogy. He won some eliminations and made it far in every season on which he appeared. On Dirty Thirty he was sent home due to a shoving match, and he was Purged on the other two seasons. Many people dislike him due to his ongoing relationship drama with Kayleigh or his affinity for fighting vets. Still, Nelson is one of the strongest competitors and poses a real threat against the big dogs. I am confident he could become a champion of he keeps competing.

7. Hunter Barfield

Can we take a moment to recognize how successful Hunter’s runs on The Challenge have been? He lost in Purges on both Invasion and Dirty Thirty, the later mostly being attributed to an injured hand. Then, he won Final Reckoning. Of course, he will best be remembered for having his share of the winnings taken by Ashley at the end of Final Reckoning. Perhaps the most expensive slut shaming of all time.

6. Devin Walker

Starting out the trilogy with an early elimination, Devin’s shining moment was on Vendettas. Using “mental warfare” he secured Bananas as an opponent in elimination and eliminated the veteran. This sparked a huge feud between the two. Initially they would have been partners on Final Reckoning, but the unexpected passing of his father took him out of the game. He returned as a Mercenary with Cory, fought with Bananas and received some seriously hurtful comments, then got eliminated due to Cory body slamming Tony. You never know what you’ll get with Devin, but he always has a trick up his sleeve.

5. Kam Williams

Coming into Vendettas as a rookie, Kam quickly proved herself. She beat two Mercenaries and make it all the way to the final. No one intimidated her, and she was unafraid to throw grenades at veterans like Cara Maria or go toe-to-toe with Melissa. On Final Reckoning she continued to perform well, even orchestrating one of the most strategic moves ever played on a Challenge. Eating competitions proved to be a weakness. She got purged, won in Redemption, and then got purged again. At least Kam wasn’t a complete victim to the twists. They both hurt her and benefited her. Either way, she established a great identity for herself on her two seasons.

4. Ashley Mitchell

Ashley is a wildcard in every aspect of the word. Sometimes she’s a fierce and ruthless competitor. Other times she’s quitting because she doesn’t have clean clothes. She started this trilogy when she quit Dirty Thirty. She ended this trilogy with a million dollars. Regardless of what she does on the show, people talk about her. Taking Hunter’s money at the end of Final Reckoning may have been savage, but it solidified her spot in Challenge history.

3. Johnny Bananas

The named “Johnny Bananas” has become synonymous with The Challenge. Even when he lays low, like on Dirty Thirty, people are talking about him. Specifically, Team Young Buck (plus Devin) have made it their quest to eliminate Bananas each season. Throughout the trilogy their quests have been successful, as he hasn’t seen a final since Rivals 3. Jemmye says he’s cursed after taking Sarah’s money, but at least he has a new hobby. Since he broke up with his ex Hannah he has been dating Challenge rookies like Natalie and Angela.

2. Tony Raines

You never would have guessed it from his early seasons, but when Tony isn’t getting kicked off The Challenge he’s pretty good. He made it far on Dirty Thirty, all the way to the final Purge. However, his best performance was on Vendettas. He saw that season’s final and stabbed Johnny Bananas in the back in the process. Fortunately, he redeemed himself on Final Reckoning. He rebuilt that relationship with Bananas and laid low most season. This almost took the team to the final, but they were eliminated in the final Armageddon. His elimination on Final Reckoning wasn’t the end of his story. On that season’s reunion he got engaged to his long time girlfriend Alyssa.

1. Cara Maria Sorbello

What would this trilogy be without Cara Maria? Finalist on all three seasons, she was the sole winner of Vendettas. She made a couple of friends in the process and a whole lot more enemies. This might be due to the fact that she’s a super dominant player. She’s used to winning and she even got better at puzzles, her biggest weakness in her early seasons. Of course, there is the never-ending story of her romance with Kyle. Then her break up with Kyle. Then her friendship with Paulie. Then her open relationship with Paulie. Seriously, this girl does everything on the Challenge except get eliminated.

This “trilogy” was just Rivals 4, 5 and 6 with fancier names and same twist ending as Rivals 3. I don’t know why MTV thinks we are buying this as groundbreaking seasons. But spot on the rankings. I would have placed Shane a little higher tho.